


A Bloody Business

by IllegalCerebral



Series: CM Bingo 2019 [11]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/F, F/M, Multi, Murder, On the Run, Polyamory, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21535531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllegalCerebral/pseuds/IllegalCerebral
Summary: Emily Prentiss is a reluctant contract killer working for some very nasty people. She wants out but first she has to deal with one final job when she’s commissioned to kill Spencer Reid. Something seems off and an encounter with a beautiful bar owner only serves to drive Emily’s bid for freedom from this life.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Haley Hotchner, Spencer Reid/Emily Prentiss/Tara Lewis, Tara Lewis/Emily Prentiss
Series: CM Bingo 2019 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1272575
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter fulfils the “Mobster AU” square on my @cmbingo card. Updates every Saturday.

A crimson haze bloomed from the man’s head as Emily’s bullet connected with his skull. The spray was hot on the sliver of skin exposed around her eyes. Without so much as a blink she wiped the residue away with her free hand while holstering her weapon. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed midnight, such a cliché that Emily wanted to roll her eyes. Hotchner wouldn’t appreciate the dramatic flair and for her part Emily preferred completing her jobs with as little fuss as possible.

Playing around with the gas and electrics were simple enough and she had a few minutes to leave before the house was incinerated. All in all a simple job. It would be nice if Rossi and Hotchner could send a few more of those her way but given how they were stepping up their operations they needed some pretty tricky people removed from the playing field.

Jason Gideon may have been easy to kill but he certainly hadn’t been easy to find. Months and months of surveillance had lead to tonight and it was a relief to know this whole thing was almost done. It didn’t take long to soak the place in petrol and with the spark of a match the building was engulfed in flames. Emily was in the shadows before the neighbours even began to stir, the faint scent of smoke clinging to her.

“It’s done” she texted Rossi, along with a picture of Gideon’s body. Before she had a chance to slip the phone back into her pocket it buzzed. Emily frowned.

“It is a bad idea for you to call me right now Hotchner,” she said.

“We have another job for you.”

“Already?”

“You have other engagements?”

“No but taking out the competition at this rate is going to raise eyebrows.” There was nothing but silence for a moment. The hairs on the back of Emily’s neck were on end. There was a general consensus that of the two men Rossi was the most dangerous, the one you didn’t want to cross because he had a temper and he liked his enemies dealt with in creative ways. Hotchner was seen as the more reasonable one. This was a grave misconception that had led to more than one person meeting a grisly end. The difference between Rossi and Hotchner was the different between burning or freezing to death.

“Do not ever question my methods again” Hotchner said steadily, “Now, this kid is a nobody. No one will think it’s connected to us, especially if you just make him disappear. No body, no trace, not even a whisper of this you understand?”

“So the opposite of tonight.”

“Exactly. I’ll email you a name and address separately.” The line went dead. 

Her steps heavier now, Emily continued weaving through the dark streets with clenched fists and jaw. Before she had the misfortune to cross paths with Rossi and Hotchner she had been a free agent, things had been fine, she was free. But now she was theirs exclusively and it was like working with a noose around her neck and a time bomb hidden just out of sight.

She’d been young and stupid, so sure of her own power that she had taken stupid risks and ended up in the debt of people who out manoeuvred her at every turn. If Emily wasn’t so good at killing people then she would likely have faced the same fate as Gideon.

“Honey I’m home” Emily clambered through the window of her fire escape into the bleak, bare apartment. Sergio chirped happily at her arrival, weaving around her legs. “You’re such a good boy” Emily scooped him up and nuzzled into his fur, his softness and warmth soothing her frayed nerves. Sergio purred and bumped his head against her jaw as Emily settled down in front of her laptop to see who her next target was.

“Huh I guess Hotchner was right about one thing” Emily scratched Sergio behind his ear, “They definitely won’t connect this guy to them”

Spencer Reid was thirty-two years old and formerly of Las Vegas but now living here in a shitty part of town. The photo showed a guy who looked much younger, skinny and pale but with a lopsided grin. The opposite of a gangster in every way imaginable, Emily thought. This sentiment only grew with a quick Google search.

“MIT grad” Emily scrolled though the results, “ A chess grandmaster and a former child prodigy. What did you do to piss off Hotchner and Rossi?”

Sergio slipped from her arms onto the keyboard, batting at the screen where there was an article about Spencer being the youngest winner of some science prize. He looked supremely uncomfortable in the photo, awkwardly shaking the hand of a smug looking guy in a suit while clasping a cheap trophy.

“A job’s a job.” Emily wasn’t sure if she was reassuring herself or trying to convince herself of something. She pulled Sergio back on to her lap and he curled up asleep as Emily spent the rest of the night reading up about Spencer Reid. He had no social media and no real online presence except a few articles about his achievements at MIT. The all stopped abruptly about ten years ago, after that there was nothing.

Following Spencer Reid for a week straight yielded nothing. He was clearly aware he was being followed, constantly checking over his shoulder, varying his routines, and doubling back over himself. The problem was he was still totally blind to Emily’s constant presence. The kid was probably expecting some big, burly, tough guy type, which shouldn’t have pissed Emily off but it did.

From what Emily saw Spencer didn’t work. He split his time between a shabby apartment down town, a few second hand bookshops and the public library. He would spend hours sitting awkwardly cross-legged in dark corners as he diligently worked through piles and piles of books. Sometimes he would buy something from one of the stores but it was very rare, mostly he just browsed and talked to the owners.

“Any more of this and I’m gonna die of boredom,” Emily mumbled into her glass after the ninth consecutive day of following Spencer. She’d finished the night by slumping down at the bar at Tara’s a quiet place a few streets away from where she lived.

“So you’re Tara huh?” the drunk guy next to Emily leered at the woman behind the bar.

“That’s me,” she took a step back, away from his grabby hands. “I’m going to cut you off if you keep pulling shit like that.”

“Aww baby don’t be a bitch,” the drunk guy moved like he was about to climb up on the bar.

“Hey dickface the lady said no,” Emily reached across and yanked him down. The drunk guy tumbled down to the floor, his pals erupting in laughter.

“Get him home” Tara ordered. The guy was still whimpering as his friends carried him out, not before leaving a large tip on the bar for Tara. “So…’the lady said no’ huh? I didn’t think anyone actually said that.”

“I uh…” Emily shrugged, “I don’t like seeing people act that way. No manners you know?”

“Believe me, I know” Tara grinned, “One on the house? My way of saying thanks.”

Emily wondered if she was blushing as hard as she thought she was as she nodded.

“You really named your bar after yourself?”

“No it was my Dad’s place first. He bought it just after I was born and named it after me. My brother has always been pissed off about that”

“Families suck”

“I’ll drink to that,” Tara pushed a glass of rum and coke towards Emily and raised a second one in the air before downing it in an impressively short time. Emily’s heart did a somersault in her chest as Tara winked at her.

“I didn’t get your name.”

“E-emily. Emily Prentiss.”

“Pleased to meet you Emily Prentiss. What seems to be troubling you?”

“Who says anything is troubling me?”

“The sheer joy with which you put that guy in his place. You’ve been waiting for an opportunity to do that,” Tara laughed.

“It felt good,” Emily admitted. She swirled the ice in her glass with a straw for a moment, the soft chinking the only sound. “I have some issues with work right now.”

“Shit bosses.”

“That’s an understatement. It’s just…” Emily rubbed her face. She shouldn’t be talking about this. “I am good at what I do but I have my own code you know? I work to my own set of rules and my boss doesn’t get that.”

“You’re being forced to do something you don’t want to do?”

“Yeah.” The sudden realisation hit Emily like a truck, “Yeah I don’t want to do this. It feels…wrong.”

“The lady says no” Tara said softly.

“In this case no isn’t really an option. I’m…trapped.”

For a moment Tara said nothing, she drummed her fingers on the counter staring thoughtfully down. Emily should have been afraid, finally voicing the thoughts that he been tormenting her since she first started following Spencer, but she wasn’t scared at all. Looking at Tara, she was calm, like somewhere in the distance everything was going to be okay. 

“Maybe it’s time to flip the script?” Tara said eventually, “Take back some control?”

Could Emily really do that? For the longest time she had felt so entrenched in this life, like she had fused with the world around her and become a creature made of bullets and blood. Take that away and what was left?

“Think about it” said Tara gently, “this spot is always free if you want to talk.”

“And if I don’t want to talk?”

Tara smirked and bit her lip. For a moment Emily was sure she was going to pass out.

“Then there’s a room upstairs. Last call is in about an hour and half. Can you wait?”

“Uh huh” Emily’s mouth was dry, “I can wait.”

***

Reason 2847820 that Tara Lewis was an amazing human being: the pancakes. Emily barely paused for breath as she wolfed down the eighth one, blueberry juice smearing her bottom lip.

“You are very lucky you’re cute,” Tara smiled into her coffee.

“Oh I’m very lucky on several levels.”

This feeling was alien but it was incredible, all the problems from the past few weeks suddenly seemed so tiny and inconsequential.

“I’m getting the feeling you’ve made a decision.”

“I have” Emily wiped her mouth, “I have one thing to take care of and then I’m telling them I’m out for good.”

Tara shifted slightly, the grip on her coffee cup increasing almost imperceptibly. Almost.

“It’s going to be okay,” Emily said.

“I know who you work for. I worked it out.” Before Emily could question it Tara continued, “Aaron Hotchner is a mean son of a bitch and Rossi is unhinged. I know what I told you last night but…”

“I have to be careful” Emily took Tara’s hands in hers, “I will be. It means getting out of town, maybe for good but I can make sure they don’t find me. You know if I thought you would, I might ask you to come with me.”

Tara laughed and squeezed Emily’s hands. A warm feeling bubbled up inside her. Never in a million years would anyone ever accuse Emily Prentiss of being a romantic and yet there she was begging a woman she had spent all of one night with to run away with her. In Emily’s defence it had been an incredible night.

“My Dad’s bar…”

“I know” Emily squeezed back and then without thinking pressed a kiss to the back of each of Tara’s hands.

“I really don’t want you to go and get yourself killed,” murmured Tara,

“One thing to know about me is that I’m practically immortal” laughed Emily, “Nothing can kill me.”

***

It had been agony to leave Tara but a few hours after breakfast Emily was back on the streets, assailed by the biting cold and following Spencer Reid down some winding back alleys. It was doubtful that there was a library or used bookshop down there so Emily was buzzing. Finally Spencer stopped at a non-descript doorway, giving the password “Zugzwang” to the gruff guy who let him in.

Emily paused, checking her gun, mace and knife were all secure. She could cut her losses now and make a run for it but something about this whole job was bugging her so before she told Hotch and Rossi she was done, Emily wanted to know why Spencer Reid was worth killing.

“Zugzwang.” The guy behind the door scowled down at Emily but she held her ground. He grunted and stood aside allowing Emily to enter a dingy corridor that led to an even dingier room stuffed with gaming tables. The whole place stank of cigarettes and booze, the air felt almost heavy with grease and most of the patrons looked like they were on something.

Spencer was at the far end, buying into a poker game. He drummed his fingers nervously on the table, his leg bouncing but his face was a calm mask.

Emily grabbed a drink at the bar and stood at the nearby blackjack table, making small bets but paying more attention to Spencer. It didn’t take long to figure out there was something going on, with all that brain power it was obvious he was counting cards. Emily cut her loses at the blackjack table and wandered closer to the poker game.

It was big risk to try and con people like this. The kid was smart enough to get a job anywhere and yet here he was. It didn’t make sense to Emily.

_Maybe he made bad choices too?_

The stakes in the game continued to rise but if anything Spencer had become calmer, more focused. The drumming and bouncing had stopped but as he shifted in his seat, Emily caught sight of something poking out of his sleeve.

_Okay, he’s making really, really bad choices._

If someone caught him with extra cards then he was worse than dead. The best course of action was to wait and see how the game played out and then follow the kid home and confront him. He would be easily over powered, and then all Emily had to do was-

There was a crash as the guy opposite Spencer stood up so quickly his chair knocked over.

“This is little shit is cheating” he growled. Spencer raised his hands.

“Hey now, there’s no need to be like that. Sometimes the game doesn’t go our way but that’s no excuse for flinging around accusations,” he said. The guy next to him seized Spencer roughly, yanking him to his feet.

“This one was at the tables over on main last week. Cleared out everyone a little too easily.”

“I can’t help it if lady luck is on my side!”

“What’s that?” Now a third guy had stood up and to Emily’s horror grabbed Spencer arm. He pushed up the sleeve and four aces cascaded gently down.

“I’m gonna break every bone in your thieving little body,” the first man snarled.

So much for Emily’s plan. A sensible person would get the hell out of dodge after that display and leave Spencer to whatever fate he had clearly called upon himself. Something nagged at Emily though and like she was possessed by some unseen force she crossed the room in three strides and pulled her gun out, pressing it to the first guy’s temple.

“Hands off. The kid is with me” Everyone, including Spencer looked thoroughly confused.

“He cheated us.”

“Take your money. Take the kid’s money-“

“Hey,” Spencer squeaked. Emily shot him a look that made him cower. He was still being gripped by one of the thugs.

“Take it all” Emily continued, “then I will take him out of here and make sure this never happens again.”

“Mr Hotchner and Mr Rossi don’t like people stealing from them” the guy manning the door had made his way over. Emily’s heart sank. At least she knew why Spencer was a target now.

“I didn’t steal,” Spencer protested, “I utilised my skill set in a non-traditional way. I mean at a fundamental level poker is just math and-“

“Shut it or I’ll kill you myself,” Emily hissed as she used her free hand to tug Spencer out of the thug’s grip and across the room. No one made a move to follow her. The security guy’s eyes narrowed as the pair fled down the hall.

“Where are we going?”

“Shut up.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Are you deaf or something? I said shut up.”

Spencer remained silent as they wove in and out of the streets. Emily was almost certain someone had followed them and made sure they cut across streets, doubled back on themselves and after four hours or so she was convinced they had shaken the tail. Finally she pushed Spencer into a dingy diner and marched him to a booth at the back.

“What can I get you darlings?” the waitress grinned.

“A coffee, black, four sugars” Spencer said, timidly. He looked at Emily like he was asking for permission.

“I’m guessing you don’t do tequila,” muttered Emily.

“Two coffees then?” the waitress chuckled.

“And a bowl of cheesy fries please.”

Emily paused for a moment as the waitress bustled away. The air was thick with tension, when she turned back to Spencer it was with a ferocious look on her face.

“Start talking.”

“I-uh-what?”

“Hotch and Rossi contracted me to kill you and now I need a really good reason to turn down that job,” she sat back, arms folded, “Convince me.”


	2. Chapter 2

“My mother,” Spencer said softly. Emily’s stony glare didn’t relent so he kept going; the words tumbling out all at once with no pause for breathe. “She’s sick, really sick and my Dad took off because he couldn’t handle it and I tried, I really, really tried but pretty soon I couldn’t handle it either but there’s this sanatorium which is really nice but it’s expensive and my Mom had savings and they lasted for a while but now they’re all gone, I dropped out of college but I couldn’t earn enough and they were going to kick her onto the street but I heard about these poker games and I figured poker is just math right? I’m good at math.”

“So you ended up defrauding two of the most dangerous men in the city?” Emily finished.

“The whole thing…got out of hand.”

Emily rubbed her eyes. God she wished she were back with Tara. Spencer shrunk down in his seat.

“Please don’t kill me.”

“I wasn’t going to” snapped Emily, I was going to leave and everything was going to be okay but…”

“But what?” Spencer leaned forward, “Assassins don’t usually save the people they’re trying to kill right?”

Thankfully the coffee and fries arrived and they fell into awkward silence while Emily decided what the hell she was going to do. Spencer continued to stare at her meekly, hands clasped tight around the coffee mug.

“Can I call her?” he asked quietly as Emily angrily crunched her last fry.

“Who?”

“My Mom.”

Emily’s face softened ever so slightly. He was a scared kid, that was all and he wasn’t scared for himself but for the person he loved most in the world.

“Sure.” Emily dug around in her pockets and pushed some change towards him. She watched as he headed towards a payphone at the back of a diner. Outside the people were enjoying the rare dry spell on their lunch breaks. Couples walked hand in hand and groups of friends chatted and joked around. It made Emily’s heart ache. She turned back to Spencer just in time to see the phone slip from his hand, his face growing paler as he swayed on his feet.

Emily was practically at his side when the waitress caught him and hollered at her, “Hey your fella doesn’t look too hot!”

“Low blood sugar,” Emily lied, pulling Spencer back to the booth. “What happened?” she whispered.

“A-accident” Spencer’s voice was thick, “Doctor said…doctor…said…she’s gone.”

“Spencer,” Emily gripped his shoulders, “listen to me. That was no accident. Rossi and Hotch got word about what happened at the poker game. They’re trying to lure you in.”

“You said you wouldn’t-“

“They’ll know I helped you. Fuck! Needless to say my employment is terminated and the two of us are likely to follow.” Emily pulled him to his feet and marched him out the door, throwing $100 at the waitress on the way out. Every nerve in her body was on fire as Emily scanned the crowd for any threats.

“We need to go,” she muttered.

“Go?”

“Out of town,” Emily shoved Spencer forward but with strength that surprised her, he gripped her arm, pulling her to face him.

“I need to go to my Mom.”

“That’s suicide.”

“Who’s going to bury her?”

“The same people who’ll bury you after whichever goons Hotch and Rossi send gun you down outside the hospital” Emily hissed. Both of them were breathing heavily, fists clenched and eyes blazing. “Would she want you to die Spencer?” some of the tension left Emily’s body, her shoulders sagging. God she was tired, so tired of all of this, Spencer swallowed, wiping away his tears with his sleeve.

“I should be there, she shouldn’t be alone,” Spencer sobbed. Emily hesitated before reaching out tentatively to pat his arm.

“I won’t pretend I know how you feel,” Emily said, “But I’m willing to bet your mother would want you to survive this.”

“What about you?”

“I-“ Emily stopped, a growing horror rising within her. _Tara_. Could they know? Emily wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“We need to go. I swear I will keep us alive but I need you to trust me.” Spencer nodded, mouth pressed into a line and grim determination etched into every feature. Maybe he was tougher than he looked after all.

“Tell me what to do.”

* * *

A cold dread laid low in Emily’s stomach as she and Spencer rounded the corner by the bar. Emily half expected to see the place in flames. There was a sickly sense of relief when they entered and saw Tara behind the bar.

“Emily what-“

“I thought they might have…oh my God.” Everything seemed to fast, too loud and too close in that moment.

“Emily?” Spencer’s voice was barely audible over the roaring sound of the blood in her ears. Tara looked between the pair of them in confusion.

“Who is this?”

“Oh I’m Spencer, I’m…uh a friend I guess…”

The conversation turned into a hum and the hair on the back of Emily’s neck stood on end.

“Get down!” she screamed before the place erupted in a hail of bullets. Glass from the windows showered down on them as the crashed to the ground. ”Is there a back door?” Tara nodded as best she could with her arms over her head. “Take Spencer and go.”

Emily didn’t wait to watch them scramble over the broken glass. She leapt to her feet, drawing her weapon and getting off three shots before diving back down. This guy was not a sharpshooter, he was send bullets everywhere and hoping one would hit. If she could form a coherent thought beyond her primal desperation for survival she might have been offended they sent such an amateur after her.

Emily took two steadying breaths, enough time to feel every muscle, every nerve, the grip of her gun in her hand. In a fluid movement she sprung to her feet once more and aimed right between the bastard’s eyes. After the explosion, his skulls splitting apart everything was silent. Emily just stood there, breathing heavily.

Sirens in the distance shook her out of her reverie and she bolted in the direction she saw Tara drag Spencer. They were huddled by the back door, behind some trashcans.

“You got him?” Spencer asked. Emily nodded and a little of the colour came back into his cheeks. “That’s great right? That means it’s over!”

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Tara’s voice was low.

“We should leave…all of us. Tara I’m so, so sorry.”

The three of them just stood there for a moment, guilt, grief and frustration emanating off of them.

“I know somewhere we can go,” said Tara finally, “If that’s…would that help? We can’t stay here right?”

“We can’t” Emily shook her head, “This life is over now for us.”

* * *

Emily had heard people talk about how soothing it was to live beside the sea, how it nourished the soul, or whatever, but she didn’t actually believe it. Now, sitting at the window with Sergio curled up on her lap and watching the waves crash on the beach under a grey sky while Spencer cooked eggs and Tara hummed along with the radio, Emily understood it perfectly.

A second cousin or whatever of Tara’s had owned the house in a decaying coastal town where there were tourists in the summer but it was practically deserted the rest of the year. For the first week Emily didn’t sleep, checking every window and door and then walking round town at night until the layout was burned in her brain. She knew every route in and out of town, memorised the face of every local (though most of them were liquored up at least semi-permanently so posed no threat) and then went two towns over to stock up on guns and ammunition which she then hid in every room of the house.

Tara and Spencer both responded to her instructions with out question, often without even a response. Spencer cooked their meals and Tara cleaned while Emily sat at the table dismantling and reconstructing her guns over and over again.

A warm hand on her shoulder shook her from a sleep she hadn’t known she had fallen into. They had been there two weeks. The house was starting to look homey. Tara smiled down at her.

“You need to rest.”

“I-“

“A proper rest,” Spencer stood with his arms folded. Emily wanted to shout back to mind his own damn business and he was the reason they were in this mess anyway but the words wouldn’t come.

“If they knew we were here we’d be dead,” Tara said, “please Emily, don’t torture yourself.”

When they both looked at her like that Emily was powerless and she hated feeling powerless, except she didn’t hate this.

It was odd. There was a thick, unspoken _something_ between the three of them that had slowly grown into being once they had arrived here and the fear and anxiety had ebbed away. On Spencer’s part at least Emily was certain it was some kind of rescue fantasy or feeling of obligation. At least that was what she was stubbornly clinging to whenever she caught Spencer looking at her with soft eyes. Most of the time he would look away but everyone once in a while when their eyes met he would just smile. When he smiled he looked…Emily couldn’t put it into words but it gave her a sense of something that she would later recognise as hope. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes too and then it was Emily who would look away, something sharp in her chest.

He looked at Tara that way too, all soft and warm and golden. It didn’t surprise Emily that the pair of them got on like a house on fire. At first it was just bonding over disappointing fathers but both of them had a kind of magnetism that Emily envied. They drew people in, made them feel interesting and loved and needed. It was an alien sensation for Emily.

After a couple of months it dawned on Emily that maybe she should be jealous. Wasn’t that the normal way to respond to…whatever the hell was going on with Tara and Spencer? Except they weren’t sleeping together and she and Tara…

That was a whole other complicated thing. They hadn’t had sex since the night had Tara’s bar but there were plenty of times Emily had fallen asleep in Tara’s arms or the other woman had just held her for a while, breathing in her scent and enjoying the softness of her skin. If anything that felt more intimate.

“Dinner!” Spencer proudly waved to the plates full of eggs.

“Perfect,” Tara planted a kiss on his cheek and instead of a pang Emily felt warmth as Spencer beamed back. They settled down to eat in silence but there was no awkwardness.

“Emily,” Tara looked at her in concern.

“What?”

“You’re…crying,” Spencer reached out, brushing a tear from her cheek. His hands were warm. Tara moved to sit beside her, an arm around her shoulders grounding her to that moment.

“What’s wrong?”

Emily shook her head, the tears were coming faster now. God this was so stupid. Spencer came round to her other side, mirroring Tara’s position, she was enclosed between them and for the first time, the first time ever, Emily felt safe.

The eggs went cold but Spencer didn’t mind, waving off Emily teary apologies.

“Honestly I would have preferred pizza but nowhere here delivers and I’m not at that level skill wise yet,” he carded his fingers through her hair.

“I would kill for some tacos. Fish tacos,” Tara said dreamily, drawing little circles on Emily’s shoulder with her thumb, “With jalapenos.”

“That’s disgusting,” Spencer made a face. Emily close her eyes as they bickered playfully about taco fillings and ‘unsophisticated palates’. The sensation of their bodies pressed against her, their soothing voices and gentle movements calmed the raging emotions inside her. Emily wasn’t even sad. Maybe it was relief or just having the space to be vulnerable for the first time or the realisation that they were safe at last.

“Thank you, both of you,” Emily murmured.

“What for?” Tara asked. Emily gestured around.

“This. Everything.”

“You’re the one the saved us” Spencer smiled.

There wasn’t an adequate response to that. Emily wasn’t sure there were enough words in the English language to let them know that it wasn’t as simple as that.

“Come on,” Tara stood up, “There’s wine in the kitchen. I think the three of us should settle down on the sofa and drink a bottle between us”

“That sounds perfect,” sighed Emily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fulfils the Roommates AU square for CM Bingo 2019. Sort of.


	3. Coda

Emily turned the gun over in her hands almost meditatively, every movement precise and deliberate. In front of her Hayley Hotchner gripped the arms of her chair, tears rolling silently down her cheeks.

“My husband is rich and powerful,” she sobbed, “He will give you whatever you want. Please don’t hurt me.”

“He can’t,” Emily looked up, her hands stilling. “There’s only one thing I want in the world and he can’t give that to me.”

“He can, I promise he-“

The gun was in Hayley’s face, she whimpered. Once upon a time it might have struck a chord in Emily. Not now. Never again.

“I worked for him and for Rossi,” Emily said. Her voice was calm, like she was chatting idly about the weather. “Do you know what I did? I killed people for them. I never really felt too bad; they were people that had done horrible things. I killed monsters for monsters. It felt…even. You could even say it was justice.”

“Please…”

“I grew to hate it. I wanted to get out but they wouldn’t let me.”

Hayley’s eyes snapped open and Emily half expected her to throw herself on the floor, hands clasped.

“I’ll make him. I can make him. Please! I can make him let you go.”

“I was going to run,” Emily ignored her, “but they asked me to kill a man, to make him disappear. Your husband and his partner like things messy did you know that? So this was weird.”

Hayley shook her head, she was crying so hard she couldn’t speak.

“Anyway you can probably guess what happened. I didn’t kill him, I saved him. Saved a woman too and the three of us ran away. We were safe.”

For a moment she could see them clear as day sitting at the dining room table and playing scrabble and play arguing over obscure words. Spencer trying to stop Sergio from swatting the letters off of the board and Tara flicking the tiles,

“I should have been more vigilant,” Emily whispered, more to herself than to Hayley.

“W-why?”

“You know why.” Emily pressed the gun to Hayley’s forehead, rising to her feet like the spectre of death itself. “I suppose someone like me should be grateful. I got five years of happiness with the people I loved most in the world. That’s more than someone in my line of work should get. I should have known that.”

“I have a son. I have a baby. He doesn’t deserve this. Whatever Aaron and David did-“

“You know what they did. You know. They sent someone to our home. I went out for groceries and I came back and…”

Blood everywhere. The air was so thick with it Emily could practically taste it the moment she crossed the threshold. On the wall dripped the words “NO ONE CROSSES US”. For the rest of her life, whenever she closed her eyes she would see those words and the lifeless bodies lying beneath them.

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how much that must hurt you but please if Aaron was the one who did this then he’s the one who should be punished. Him and David.”

“I am punishing them,” Emily said, “I went to Rossi’s house and I found his wife and I showed him exactly how much this hurt me. Now I’m going to do the same to your husband.”

“My baby!”

“I don’t kill children. You can die knowing that at least I’m better than Aaron in that respect.” Before Hayley could say anything else Emily pulled the trigger. The silence after the gunshot always felt thick like a fog. She didn’t daub a message on the wall, Hotch would know it was her. Perhaps he and Rossi would send people but let them come, she wasn’t afraid anymore.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the folded piece of paper with the ultrasound on, Tara’s name printed neatly on the top. For a moment she considered leaving it there with Hayley but instead she folded it back up and headed out into the night.

They had already taken enough from her, she knew her life would be next, so she would at least keep this tiny piece with her for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fulfils the Hayley x Hotch square on my CM Bingo card (in a kind of twisted way)


End file.
